MADE: Borough Market Raclette

A year ago, I was wandering through a rainy, blustery city, anxiously awaiting a reunion with my crazy family for my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. To be sure, that's about exactly what I'm doing this year, except last year the blustery city was London, and my family made the trip across the pond to see me. (In case you were wondering--yes, it is possible to get a turkey for Thanksgiving in London. Most higher-end grocery stores bring in a stash for the invariable tourists and emigrés.)

During my time in London, one of my favorite traditions was a Saturday pilgrimage to Borough Market--the best market in London, in my opinion, because it is stuffed with food. Every week I'd go and wander around for an hour or so, feasting on free samples of cheese, bread, olive oil, chocolate, candied fruit, olives, and jam. I always felt a little like a storybook mouse or Dickensian orphan, furtively stuffing myself with tiny scraps of food. But who could blame me? It was delicious!

When it came to actually purchasing food at Borough Market, though, one dish stood out: Raclette at KAPPACASEIN. My dear roommate Laura and I shared a plateful on a couple of occasions, and spent blissful moments wallowing in cheese-induced happiness each time. (Laura jokes that she made a trip back to London specifically to satisfy a craving for it. She was probably kidding...) The dish itself was simple--potatoes, onions, and baby gherkins covered in bubbling, gooey raclette cheese--but the taste and the experience were delightful. Standing in a long line, huddled together with tourists and Southwark neighbors alike, watching gustatory craftsmen heat wheels of cheese under open flames until the point of maximum gooey goodness, then scraping the cheesy gob over a waiting plate of vegetables: Order up!

In Trader Joe's a week or so ago, I happened to spy a block of raclette and was immediately overwhelmed with waves of nostalgia. Without thinking twice, I bought it and brought it home for my own homage to those Saturday morning market rambles.

While I was cooking, I tried to pretend that I was in a tent in London, surrounded by bustling, jabbering crowds and myriad, tantalizing smells, sweating over an open flame with a big knife against a wheel of cheese larger than my head. I highly recommend this method of cooking fantasy--it really heightens the experience.

An Homage to Borough Market Raclette

3 or 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1" chunks

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 tbsp. butter

Pinch sea salt

Splash of white wine vinegar

Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb. Raclette

Boil potatoes in a pot of water until just tender, about 8 minutes (I like my potatoes on the crunchy side, but they at least need to be firm enough not to crumble away under a fork). Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet. Add the pinch of sea salt and onion, sautéing lightly. After about 2 minutes, add a splash of white wine vinegar and continue to stir occasionally, cooking about 5 minutes total.

Once both are tender, remove potatoes and onions from heat. Strain potatoes and toss with onions, salt, and pepper, and serve on plates. (For an authentic Borough Market experience, grind salt and pepper over each plate. It might not add to the actual flavor, but in my head it did.)

In a nonstick skillet, heat raclette until it is melted, bubbly, and very gooey. Divide the gooey mess evenly over the servings. Consume with a good friend or two, preferably as you sit in the sun next to Southwark Cathedral. Although really, if you're sitting there, you might as well get a plate of the real stuff...

Note: I didn't use pickles in my recipe simply because I forgot to get them. I have another chunk of raclette in the fridge, so I'll probably be trying again soon. Next time, with pickles! (Not the title of my upcoming cookbook...)